Forks High reads Midnight Sun
by abbystar30
Summary: The goverment have found a manuscript of the future about a certain couple in Forks High School. They send it over to the school to read. Follow Bella, the Cullen's and everyone else in the school, as they read the exciting manuscript that is Midnight Sun. (Which is Twilight in Edward's P.O.V) I am awful at summaries, but it is better than it sounds. So please, Read and Reveiw!


**Hi people! okay, so this idea has been going through my mind for quite a while so i decided to just right it. A few months back i read a story about forks high reading twilight before bella met the cullens ( sadly that story has been taken down by the author because of someone who copied it almost word for word :()**

**Anyways, it got me thinking, what if they read midnight sun? it isnt complete but uptill the point stephanie meyer wrote it up to. i know not many people have wrote this so yeah, i thought i'd give it a go!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MIDNIGHT SUN, TWILIGHT OR ANYTHING IN BOLD. THEY ALL BELONG TO THE AWESOME WRITER NAMED STEPHANIE MEYER.**

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It was a rainy day at forks high school. This came as no surprise. But what was especially interesting about this day was that today was the day when Bella swan would start that very same school. In fact, she had already arrived and was in the lesson before lunch; she was sitting next to Jessica Stanley. But what most people didn't know was that something very interesting was going to happen. More interesting than new students. Though, it was, in fact, related to them, more than they would ever know.

And then the strange event happened, leading up to the more unique event.

"May everyone in the school please go to the hall? I repeat, may everyone please go to the hall, right now. Thank you." Said the principal over the intercom.

Bella looked at the teacher, confused. The teacher, Mr. Varner, gathered up the class and told them to follow him towards the school hall, which was mostly used for school assemblies and productions. There were chairs lined up and the principal, , was in front of the long lines of students which were crowded at the door.

She had a list of students and was directing them into the right seats.

Bella was sitting in-between Alice Cullen and Emmet Cullen. Next to Alice was Jasper Hale, next to him was Rosalie Hale and the line ended there. On the other side of Emmett was Edward Cullen. Behind them were Angela Weber, Jessica Stanley, Lauren Mallory, Ben Cheney, Tyler Crowley and Mike Newton. The rest of the school was near the back while the row Bella sat in was at the front.

There was murmurings ad muttering going around school which immediately stopped when stood up in front of them.

"Hello staff and Students of Forks High." she greeted loudly addressing the entire school body. The school was quite small in numbers, which was no surprise since forks was a small town.

"This morning, a box was sent to my office. It was signed by no other than the president of this United States." she paused. There was a look of shock on many of the Staff and students faces.

"And after I opened the Box, it contained one incomplete book. And a note on top. This is what the note read:

_Dear Forks High School,_

_We, as in the government, have recently come across a book. This book comes from the future, and we assure you, it is 100% true. I know it may be hard to believe, but I, the president of this U.S.A, have come back from the future and seen it happen myself. I assure you, it is true. Now, you may be wondering, why give this book to us? A small, un-interesting town? Well, this book is in the perspective of a student there and takes place in Forks. And the town is far more interesting than you have ever known. We have seen this as a sign of God giving us, or more specifically you, another chance. To fix all of your mistakes. I want you to read this to the entire students and staff of Forks High school, no matter how long it takes. I hope you will do what I ask and remember, no matter how unlikely or impossible this sounds, this entire book is TRUE. I hope you enjoy reading this and learn from your future mistakes,_

_Sincerely,_

_The President of these United States of America"_ Mrs. Hoppy read to the school. By the time she had finished, they had a look of utter shock and anticipation on their faces.

She got out the book and handed it to the person in the fort of the line, Edward Cullen.

He took the book with suspicion and started to read.

"**The Midnight Sun." **he read.

**"Chapter 1: First Sight"**

**This was the time of day when I wished I were able to sleep.**

There were murmuring going around the school.

"Can't sleep?" said someone.

"What does that mean? Everyone can sleep!" exclaimed another

The Cullen family exchanged a worried look.

Cleared her throat and started to read again.

**High school.**

**Or was purgatory the right word? If there was any way to atone for my sins,**

Again, the mutterings started. "Sins? What does that mean?"

**This ought to count toward the tally in some measure. The tedium was not something I grew used to; every day seemed more impossibly monotonous than the last. I suppose this was my form of sleep-if sleep was defined as the inert state between active periods. I stared at the cracks running through the plaster in the far corner of the cafeteria, imagining patterns into them that were not there. It was one way to tune out the voices that babbled like the gush of a river inside my head.**

Edward looked sick. He exchanged a look with his family. He realized that it was H=his thoughts they were reading. The horror set in quietly, unnoticeable by the majority of the population. No one noticed, except for one Bella Swan, who looked between the families, suspicious.

**Several hundred of these voices I ignored out of boredom. When it came to the human mind, I'd heard it all before and then some. Today, all thoughts were consumed with the trivial drama of a new addition to the small student body here. It took so little to work them all up. I'd seen the new face repeated in thought after thought from every angle. Just an ordinary human girl. The excitement over her arrival was tiresomely predictable-like flashing a shiny object at a child. Half the sheep-like males were already imagining themselves in love with her, just because she was something new to look at. I tried harder to tune them out.**

**"**The person speaks as if... he/she isn't human." says Angela Weber, slowly. The Cullen's shared another look.

**Only four voices did I block out of courtesy rather than distaste: my family, my two brothers and two** **sisters, who were so used to the lack of privacy in my presence that they rarely gave it a thought. I gave** **them what privacy I could. I tried not to listen if I could help it.**

The Cullen's gave Edward a barely noticeable, thankful nod. At least unnoticeable to the humans farther away. It was noticed, though, by Bella.

**Try as I may, still...I knew.** **Rosalie was thinking, as usual, about herself. She'd caught sight of her profile in the reflection off** **someone's glasses and she was mulling over her own perfection.**

There were resounding gaps around the school, with Rosalie herself glaring at the book.

**Rosalie's mind was a shallow pool with few surprises.**

Snickers replaced the gasps. But now people knew that the person they were reading about was in the Cullen family. And they weren't Rosalie.

**Emmett was fuming over a wrestling match he'd lost to Jasper during the night. It would take all his** **limited patience to make it to the end of the school day to orchestrate a rematch. I never really felt** **intrusive hearing Emmett's thoughts, because he never thought one thing that he would not say aloud** **or put into action.**

So it wasn't Rosalie, Jasper or Emmett. So it was either Alice or. . . Edward. People had come to realize this as well.

**Perhaps I only felt guilty reading the others' minds because I knew there were things there that they** **wouldn't want me to know. If Rosalie's mind was a shallow pool, then Emmett's was a lake with no** **shadows, glass clear. And Jasper was...suffering. I suppressed a sigh.** _**Edward.**_** Alice called my name in her head, and had my attention at once.**

Many people gasped and looked towards Edward. They had realized it was him. The hall was filled with whispers once again.

**It was just the same as having my name called aloud. I was glad my given name had fallen out of style** **lately-it had been annoying; anytime anyone thought of any Edward, my head would turn** **automatically...**

And the suspicion was back. Was the person Edward?

"I have read this book and I know that all will become clear. Please wait until the end of this book to ask questions, thank you." said

**My head didn't turn now. Alice and I were good at these private conversations.** **It was rare that anyone caught us. I kept my eyes on the lines in the plaster.**

_**How is he holding up?**_** She asked me.**

**I frowned, just a small change in the set of my mouth. Nothing that would tip the others off. I could** **easily be frowning out of boredom.** **Alice's mental tone was alarmed now and I saw in her mind that she was watching Jasper in her** **Peripheral vision. **_**Is there any danger?**_** She searched ahead, into the immediate future, skimming** **through visions of monotony for the source behind my frown.** **I turned my head slowly to the left, as if looking at the bricks of the wall, sighed, and then to the right,** **back to the cracks in the ceiling. Only Alice knew I was shaking my head.**

**She relaxed. _Let me know if it gets too bad._**

**I moved only my eyes, up to the ceiling above, and back down.**

**_Thanks for doing this._**

"damn! We have to pay more attention to you guys, how did we not notice this?" said Emmett, incredulous.

Edward and Alice smiled smugly.

**I was glad I couldn't answer her aloud. What would I say? 'My pleasure'? It was hardly that. I didn't enjoy** **listening to Jasper's struggles. Was it really necessary to experiment like this? Wouldn't the safer path be** **to just admit that he might never be able to handle the thirst the way the rest of us could, and not push** **his limits? Why flirt with disaster?**

"HA! Like you flirt with anything, Eddie!" mocked Emmett.

"Don't call me Eddie, Emmett" Edward growled out.

**It had been two weeks since our last hunting trip.**

"Hunting?" "What like animals?" were the whispers going around the hall

**That was not an immensely difficult time span for the** **Rest of us. A little uncomfortable occasionally-if a human walked too close, if the wind blew the wrong** **way. But humans rarely walked too close.** **Their instincts told them what their conscious minds would never understand: we were dangerous.** **Jasper was very dangerous right now.** **At that moment, a small girl paused at the end of the closest table to ours, stopping to talk to a friend.** **She tossed her short, sandy hair, running her fingers through it. The heaters blew her scent in our** **direction. I was used to the way that scent made me feel-the dry ache in my throat, the hollow yearn in** **my stomach, the automatic tightening of my muscles, the excess flow of venom in my mouth...**

Alarmed whispers were going through out the hall. What WERE they?

**This was all quite normal, usually easy to ignore. It was harder just now, with the feelings stronger,** **doubled, as I monitored Jasper's reaction. Twin thirsts, rather than just mine.** **Jasper was letting his imagination get away from him. He was picturing it-picturing himself getting up** **from his seat next to Alice and going to stand beside the little girl. Thinking of leaning down and in, as if** **he were going to whisper in her ear, and letting his lips touch the arch of her throat. Imagining how the** **hot flow of her pulse beneath the fine skin would feel under his mouth...**

People edged away from the Cullen's, frightened for their lives.

**I kicked his chair.**

**He met my gaze for a minute, and then looked down. I could hear shame and rebellion war in his head.**

**"Sorry," Jasper muttered.**

**I shrugged.**

**"You weren't going to do anything," Alice murmured to him, soothing his chagrin. "I could see that."**

**I fought back the grimace that would give her lie away. We had to stick together, Alice and I. It wasn't** **easy, hearing voices or seeing visions of the future. Both freaks among those who were already freaks.**

"HA! Got that right!" laughed Emmett. Alice reached around Bella and smacked him upside the head.

"OWW!" he yelped before shutting up.

**We protected each other's secrets.** **"It helps a little if you think of them as people," Alice suggested, her high, musical voice too fast for** **human ears to understand, if any had been close enough to hear. "Her name is Whitney. She has a baby** **sister she adores. Her mother invited Esme to that garden party, do you remember?"**

Whitney gasped in the crowd, frightened for her life. Her best friend, Kate, comforted her, whispering at how it was going to be okay.

**"I know who she is," Jasper said curtly. He turned away to stare out one of the small windows that were** **spaced just under the eaves around the long room. His tone ended the conversation.** **He would have to hunt tonight. It was ridiculous to take risks like this, trying to test his strength, to build** **his endurance. Jasper should just accept his limitations and work within them. His former habits were** **not conducive to our chosen lifestyle; he shouldn't push himself in this way.**

**Alice sighed silently and stood, taking her tray of food-her prop, as it were-with her and leaving him** **alone. She knew when he'd had enough of her encouragement.** **Though Rosalie and Emmett were more flagrant about their relationship, it was Alice and Jasper who** **knew each other's every mood as well as their own. As if they could read minds, too-only just each** **other's.**

"Awwww!" said many people, looking towards Alice and jasper, which were currently holding hands, looking at each other lovingly. No one could deny their love for each other.

**_Edward Cullen._**

**Reflex reaction. I turned to the sound of my name being called, though it wasn't being called, just** **thought.** **My eyes locked for a small portion of a second with a pair of wide, chocolate-brown human eyes set in a** **pale, heart-shaped face.**

Bella looked towards Edward.

"Is that me?" she asked.

He nodded, giving her the answer she needed. Then suddenly, she groaned, burying her head in her hands, realizing the whole school would hear her thoughts in just a moments time.

**I knew the face, though I'd never seen it myself before this moment. It had** **been foremost in every human head today. The new student, Isabella Swan. Daughter of the town's** **chief of police, brought to live here by some new custody situation. Bella. She'd corrected everyone** **who'd used her full name...**

Bella nodded, as if to confirm what Edward had just read.

**I looked away, bored. It took me a second to realize that she had not been the one to think my name.** **_Of course she's already crushing on the Cullen's_**,** I heard the first thought continue.** **Now I recognized the 'voice.' Jessica Stanley**

Jessica gasped, horrified._ 'People are going to hear my thoughts! Not good!'_ she thought frantically.

**-it had been a while since she'd bothered me with her** **internal chatter. What a relief it had been when she'd gotten over her misplaced infatuation.** **It used to be nearly impossible to escape her constant, ridiculous daydreams. **

Laughs surrounded the hall, echoing in it noisily. Jessica buried her face into her hands, embarrassed.

**I'd wished, at the time, that I could** **explain to her exactly what would have happened if my lips, and the teeth behind them, had gotten** **anywhere near her. That would have silenced those annoying fantasies. The thought of her reaction** **almost made me smile.** _**Fat lot of good it will do her, **_**Jessica went on**_**. She's really not even pretty. I don't know why Eric is**_ **_staring so much...or Mike._**

Bella looked shocked that someone could be so mean on the inside and be so good at acting nice on the outside. She wondered if her thoughts towards her had always been this mean, even in their last lesson together.

**She winced mentally on the last name. Her new infatuation, the generically popular Mike Newton, was** **completely oblivious to her.**

Jessica blushed a deeper red, avoiding mike's eye.

**Apparently, he was not as oblivious to the new girl. Like the child with the** **shiny object again. This put a mean edge to Jessica's thoughts, though she was outwardly cordial to the** **newcomer as she explained to her the commonly held knowledge about my family. The new student** **must have asked about us.**

_**Everyone's looking at me today, too**_**, Jessica thought smugly in an aside.**_** Isn't it lucky Bella had two**_ **_classes with me...I'll bet Mike will want to ask me what she's-_**

Bella looked more angry than shocked. So Jessica was just using her?

**I tried to block the inane chatter out of my head before the petty and the trivial could drive me mad.** **"Jessica Stanley is giving the new Swan girl all the dirty laundry on the Cullen clan," I murmured to** **Emmett as a distraction.**

"Finally! You're telling me something!" exclaimed Emmett. Alice told him to shut up. He did.

**He chuckled under his breath.**_** I hope she's making it good**_**, he thought.** **"Rather unimaginative, actually. Just the barest hint of scandal. Not an ounce of horror. I'm a little** **disappointed."**

And the new girl? Is she disappointed in the gossip as well?

**I listened to hear what this new girl, Bella, thought of Jessica's story. What did she see when she looked** **at the strange, chalky-skinned family that was universally avoided?**

Bella's heart thudded in anticipation. What was she going to be thinking? She hoped it wasn't embarrassing.

**It was sort of my responsibility to know her reaction. I acted as a lookout, for lack of a better word, for** **my family. To protect us. If anyone ever grew suspicious, I could give us early warning and an easy** **retreat. It happened occasionally-some human with an active imagination would see in us the characters** **of a book or a movie. Usually they got it wrong, but it was better to move on somewhere new than to** **risk scrutiny.** **Very, very rarely, someone would guess right. We didn't give them a chance to test their hypothesis. We** **simply disappeared, to become no more than a frightening memory...**

The curious whispers were back. What were they? The Cullens exchanged another worried look. Why hadn't Alice seen this and stopped it?

**I heard nothing, though I listened close beside where Jessica's frivolous internal monologue continued to** **gush. It was as if there was no one sitting beside her. How peculiar, had the girl moved? That didn't** **seem likely, as Jessica was still babbling to her.** **I looked up to check, feeling off-balance. Checking on what my extra 'hearing' could tell me-it wasn't** **something I ever had to do.**

**Again, my gaze locked on those same wide brown eyes. She was sitting right where she had been** **before, and looking at us, a natural thing to be doing, I supposed, as Jessica was still regaling her with** **The local gossip about the Cullen's.** **Thinking about us, too, would be natural.** **But I couldn't hear a whisper.**

Bella let out a sigh of releif. Edward and his family looked puzzled and curious. Why couldn't Edward hear her?

**Inviting warm red stained her cheeks as she looked down, away from the embarrassing gaffe of getting** **Caught staring at a stranger. It was good that Jasper was still gazing out the window. I didn't like to** **imagine what that easy pooling of blood would do to his control.**

Jasper shuddered while Alice comforted him. "You wouldn't have done anything" she murmured comfortingly.

**The emotions had been as clear on her face as if they were spelled out in words across her forehead:** **surprise, as she unknowingly absorbed the signs of the subtle differences between her kind and mine,** **curiosity, as she listened to Jessica's tale, and something more...fascination? It wouldn't be the first** **time. We were beautiful to them, our intended prey. Then, finally, embarrassment as I caught her** **staring at me.**

"Open Book," Bella muttered, remembering Renee's words. Edward looked at her curiously before returning to the book.

**And yet, though her thoughts had been so clear in her odd eyes-odd, because of the depth to them;** **brown eyes often seemed flat in their darkness-I could hear nothing but silence from the place she was** **sitting. Nothing at all.**

Bella smiled, while looking curious. One hand, she was happy he couldn't hear her; on the other hand, she was curious. Why couldn't he?

**I felt a moment of unease.** **This was nothing I'd ever encountered before. Was there something wrong with me? I felt exactly the** **same as I always did. Worried, I listened harder.** **All the voices I'd been blocking were suddenly shouting in my head.**

_**...wonder what music she likes...maybe I could mention that new CD...**_** Mike Newton was thinking, two** **tables away-fixated on Bella Swan.**

Mike looked up in surprise. Bella smiled at him, appreciating his effort to get to know her.

_**Look at him staring at her. Isn't it enough that he has half the girls in school waiting for him to...?**_** Eric** **Yorkie was thinking sulfurous thoughts, also revolving around the girl.**

Eric looked up as well, embarrassed.

_**...so disgusting. You'd think she was famous or something... Even Edward Cullen , staring...**_** Lauren** **Mallory was so jealous that her face, by all rights, should be dark jade in color.**_** And Jessica, flaunting her**_ _**new best friend. What a joke...**_** Vitriol continued to spew from the girl's thoughts.**

Bella looked shocked that someone could dislike her so quickly, without even knowing her.

**_...I bet everyone has asked her that. But I'd like to talk to her. I'll think of a more original_** _**question...**_**Ashley Dowling mused.**

Bella smiled at Ahsley who returned the smile.

_**...maybe she'll be in my Spanish...**_**June Richardson hoped.**

_**...tons left to do tonight! Trig, and the English test. I hope my mom...**_**Angela Weber, a quiet girl, whose** **thoughts were unusually kind, was the only one at the table who wasn't obsessed with this Bella.**

Angela blushed. Bella smiled broadly at the girl, happy she wasn't thinking about her. Angela smiled back shyly.

**I could hear them all, hear every insignificant thing they were thinking as it passed through their minds.** **But nothing at all from the new student with the deceptively communicative eyes.** **And, of course, I could hear what the girl said when she spoke to Jessica. I didn't have to read minds to** **be able to hear her low, clear voice on the far side of the long room.** **"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I heard her ask, sneaking a look at me from the** **corner of her eye, only to look quickly away when she saw that I was still staring.**

Bella blushed her easy blush, her face steadily growing more red.

**If I'd had time to hope that hearing the sound of her voice would help me pinpoint the tone of her** **thoughts, lost somewhere where I couldn't access them, I was instantly disappointed. Usually, people's** **thoughts came to them in a similar pitch as their physical voices. But this quiet, shy voice was unfamiliar,** **not one of the hundreds of thoughts bouncing around the room, I was sure of that. Entirely new.**

_**Oh, good luck, idiot!**_** Jessica thought before answering the girl's question.**

**"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none** **of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed.**

**I turned my head away to hide my smile. Jessica and her classmates had no idea how lucky they were** **that none of them particularly appealed to me.** **Beneath the transient humor, I felt a strange impulse, one I did not clearly understand. It had something** **to do with the vicious edge to Jessica's thoughts that the new girl was unaware of... I felt the strangest** **urge to step in between them, to shield this Bella Swan from the darker workings of Jessica's mind.**

Bella and Edward both looked shocked. They looked at each other, before Edward broke the gaze and began reading again.

**What an odd thing to feel.**

**Trying to ferret out the motivations behind the impulse, I examined the new girl one more time.** **Perhaps it was just some long buried protective instinct-the strong for the weak. This girl looked more** **fragile than her new classmates. Her skin was so translucent it was hard to believe it offered her much** **defense from the outside world. I could see the rhythmic pulse of blood through her veins under the** **clear, pale membrane... But I should not concentrate on that. I was good at this life I'd chosen, but I was** **just as thirsty as Jasper and there was no point in inviting temptation.** **There was a faint crease between her eyebrows that she seemed unaware of. It was unbelievable** **frustrating! I could clearly see that it was a strain for her to sit there, to make conversation with** **strangers, to be the center of attention. I could sense her shyness from the way she held her frail looking** **shoulders, slightly hunched, as if she was expecting a rebuff at any moment. And yet I could only** **sense, could only see, could only imagine. There was nothing but silence from the very unexceptional** **human girl. I could hear nothing. Why?**

"That there, is the million dollar question." Edward muttered. Baffled as to why he could not hear her. This had never happened before, why did it happen then?"

**"Shall we?" Rosalie murmured, interrupting my focus.** **I looked away from the girl with a sense of relief. I didn't want to continue to fail at this-it irritated me.** **And I didn't want to develop any interest in her hidden thoughts simply because they were hidden from** **Me. No doubt, when I did decipher her thoughts-and I would find a way to do so-they would be just as** **Petty and trivial as any human's thoughts. Not worth the effort I would expend to reach them.**

Bella looked offended.

"What is your problem?" she asked Edward. He turned to her reluctantly, curious as to what she had to say.

"You may be able to read minds, but that does not mean you have the right to ridicule everyone you hear, and the people you don't! Everyone is unique." after her speech, she turned red, though not with embarrassment, but anger. That is, until she saw everyone staring at her. Edward had no reply, so he continued reading.

**"So, is the new one afraid of us yet?" Emmett asked, still waiting for my response to his question before.** **I shrugged. He wasn't interested enough to press for a more information. Nor should I be interested.**

Bella huffed.

**We got up from the table and walked out of the cafeteria.** **Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper were pretending to be seniors; they left for their classes. I was playing a** **younger role than they. I headed off for my junior level biology class, preparing my mind for the tedium.** **It was doubtful Mr. Banner, a man of no more than average intellect, would manage to pull out anything** **in his lecture that would surprise someone holding two graduate degrees in medicine.** **In the classroom, I settled into my chair and let my books-props, again; they held nothing I didn't already** **know-spill across the table. I was the only student who had a table to himself. The humans weren't** **smart enough to know that they feared me, but their survival instincts were enough to keep them away.**

**The room slowly filled as they trickled in from lunch. I leaned back in my chair and waited for the time to** **pass. Again, I wished I was able to sleep.** **Because I'd been thinking about her, when Angela Weber escorted the new girl through the door, her** **name intruded on my attention.** **_Bella seems just as shy as me. I'll bet today is really hard for her. I wish I could say something...but it_** **_would probably just sound stupid..._**

Bella smiled brightly at Angela. "Thank you" she said. "and no, I wouldn't think anything you would say would sound stupid." she continued sincerely. Angela smiled at her, equally as brightly.

_**Yes!**_** Mike Newton thought, turning in his seat to watch the girls enter.** **Still, from the place where Bella Swan stood, nothing. The empty space where her thoughts should be** **irritated and unnerved me.**

**Bella smiled somewhat smugly. she was releived that her thoughts coudn't be heard.**

**She came closer, walking down the aisle beside me to get to the teacher's desk.** **Poor girl; the seat next to me was the only one available. Automatically, I cleared what would be her** **side of the desk, shoving my books into a pile. I doubted she would feel very comfortable there. She was** **in for a long semester-in this class, at least. Perhaps, though, sitting beside her, I'd be able to flush out** **her secrets...not that I'd ever needed close proximity before...not that I would find anything worth** **listening to...**

Bella glared at Edward, annoyed. Edward avoided her eyes and continued reading.

**Bella Swan walked into the flow of the heated air that blew toward me from the vent.** **Her scent hit me like wrecking ball, like a battering ram. There was no image violent enough to** **encapsulate the force of what happened to me in that moment.** **In that instant, I was nothing close to the human I'd once been; no trace of the shreds of humanity I'd** **managed to cloak myself in remained.** **I was a predator. She was my prey. There was nothing else in the whole world but that truth.**

The Cullens gasped. Edward looked urgently towards Alice. "Is anything going to happen?" he asked hurridly. Bella barely caught the words.

Alice paused, seemingly looking towards nowhere. Her eyes glazed and Edward knew she was having a vision. Then she shook her head. "No," she whispered quietly, releived. "No. Nothing will happen, Edward."

Bella looked between the two. How did Alice know this? The rest of the hall was oblivious to the exchange.

**There was no room full of witnesses-they were already collateral damage in my head. The mystery of** **her thoughts was forgotten. Her thoughts meant nothing, for she would not go on thinking them much** **longer.** **I was a vampire,**

People gasped. A vampire? But Vampires didn't exist! The mutterings became louder and more incredulous. Bella looked quite frightened to be sitting in between two, but then calmed herself thinking ' if they had wanted to kill me they would have already . . . right?'

She glanced at the Cullen family, they were grimacing. Of course they were grimacing; their secret had just been exposed! The Principal gestured to Edward to continue reading. He did.

**and she had the sweetest blood I'd smelled in eighty years.** **I hadn't imagined such a scent could exist. If I'd known it did, I would have gone searching for it long ago.** **I would have combed the planet for her. I could imagine the taste...** **Thirst burned through my throat like fire. My mouth was baked and desiccated. The fresh flow of venom** **did nothing to dispel that sensation. My stomach twisted with the hunger that was an echo of the thirst.** **My muscles coiled to spring.**

Everyone in the hall tensed. Was he going to kill her?

**Not a full second had passed. She was still taking the same step that had put her downwind from me.** **As her foot touched the ground, her eyes slid toward me, a movement she clearly meant to be stealthy.** **Her glance met mine, and I saw myself reflected in the wide mirror of her eyes.** **The shock of the face I saw there saved her life for a few thorny moments.** **She didn't make it easier. When she processed the expression on my face, blood flooded her cheeks** **again, turning her skin the most delicious color I'd ever seen. The scent was a thick haze in my brain. I** **could barely think through it. My thoughts raged, resisting control, incoherent.**

**She walked more quickly now, as if she understood the need to escape. Her haste made her clumsy-she** **tripped and stumbled forward, almost falling into the girl seated in front of me. Vulnerable, weak. Even** **more than usual for a human.** **I tried to focus on the face I'd seen in her eyes, a face I recognized with revulsion.**

**The face of the monster in me-the face I'd beaten back with decades of effort and uncompromising** **discipline. How easily it sprang to the surface now!**

People were confused. He was a vampire, right? So why was he saying he was fighting his nature? It was in the nature of vampire's to kill, so why was he denying himself this?

**The scent swirled around me again, scattering my thoughts and nearly propelling me out of my seat.** **No.** **My hand gripped under the edge of the table as I tried to hold myself in my chair.** **The wood was not up to the task. My hand crushed through the strut and came away with a palm full of** **splintered pulp, leaving the shape of my fingers carved into the remaining wood.**

Everyone gasped in shock. How strong were these people? They glanced fearfully at the Cullen's. What else had they been hiding?

**Destroy evidence. That was a fundamental rule. I quickly pulverized the edges of the shape with my** **fingertips, leaving nothing but a ragged hole and a pile of shavings on the floor, which I scattered with** **my foot.**

**Destroy evidence. Collateral damage...**

**I knew what had to happen now. The girl would have to come sit beside me, and I would have to kill her.** **The innocent bystanders in this classroom, eighteen other children and one man, could not be allowed** **to leave this room, having seen what they would soon see.**

**I flinched at the thought of what I must do. Even at my very worst, I had never committed this kind of** **atrocity. I had never killed innocents, not in over eight decades.**

Many people looked frightened. So he had killed innocent people? They inched away from the Cullen's. Bella though, didn't. She promised herself she would not react negatively until she had heard the full story.

**And now I planned to slaughter twenty of them at once. The face of the monster in the mirror mocked me. Even as part of me shuddered away from the monster, another part was planning it. If I killed the girl first, I would have only fifteen or twenty seconds with her before the humans in the room would react. Maybe a little bit longer, if at first they did not realize what I was doing. She would not have time to scream or feel pain; I would not kill her cruelly. That much I could give this stranger with her horribly desirable blood. But then I would have to stop them from escaping. I wouldn't have to worry about the windows, too high up and small to provide an escape for anyone. **

**Just the door-block that and they were trapped. It would be slower and more difficult, trying to take them all down when they were panicked and scrambling, moving in chaos. Not impossible, but there would be much more noise. Time for lots of screaming. Someone would hear...and I'd be forced to kill even more innocents in this black hour. And her blood would cool, while I murdered the others. The scent punished me, closing my throat with dry aching... So the witnesses first then. **

**I mapped it out in my head. I was in the middle of the room, the furthest row in the back. I would take my right side first. I could snap four or five of their necks per second, I estimated. It would not be noisy. The right side would be the lucky side; they would not see me coming. Moving around the front and back up the left side, it would take me, at most, five seconds to end every life in this room. Long enough for Bella Swan to see, briefly, what was coming for her. Long enough for her to feel fear. Long enough, maybe, if shock didn't freeze her in place, for her to work up a scream. One soft scream that would not bring anyone running.**

Adredaline coursed through the blood of the humans currently residing in the hall. Was this the way the Cullen's thought og them, every siingle moment? Planning their deaths?

**I took a deep breath, and the scent was a fire that raced through my dry veins, burning out from my chest to consume every better impulse that I was capable of. She was just turning now. In a few seconds, she would sit down inches away from me. The monster in my head smiled in anticipation. Someone slammed shut a folder on my left. I didn't look up to see which of the doomed humans it was. But the motion sent a wave of ordinary, unscented air wafting across my face.**

The Cullen's all sighed in relief. "He wouldn't do anything." Alice reassured everyone. Most people weren't so sure. Very few believed her. Bella being one of them.

**For one short second, I was able to think clearly. In that precious second, I saw two faces in my head,**

**side by side. One was mine, or rather had been: the red-eyed monster that had killed so many people that I'd stop counting their numbers. Rationalized, justified murders. A killer of killers, a killer of other, less powerful monsters.**

Bella nodded her head triumphantly. 'I knew it! I was right not to act so negatively when I heard he killed people. after all, If he was killing murderers he was, essentially, saving any more lives being taken by that murderer, wasn't he?' she thought logically.

**It was a god complex, I acknowledged that-deciding who deserved a death sentence. It was a compromise with myself. I had fed on human blood, but only by the loosest definition. My victims were, in their various dark pastimes, barely more human than I was. **

**The other face was Carlisle's. There was no resemblance between the two faces. They were bright day and blackest night. There was no reason for there to be a resemblance. Carlisle was not my father in the basic biological sense. We shared no common features. The similarity in our coloring was a product of what we were; every vampire had the same ice pale skin. The similarity in the color of our eyes was another matter-a reflection of a mutual choice.**

**And yet, though there was no basis for a resemblance, I'd imagined that my face had begun to reflect his, to an extent, in the last seventy odd years that I had embraced his choice and followed in his steps. My features had not changed, but it seemed to me like some of his wisdom had marked my expression, that a little of his compassion could be traced in the shape of my mouth, and hints of his patience were evident on my brow. All those tiny improvements were lost in the face of the monster. In a few moments, there would be nothing left in me that would reflect the years I'd spent with my creator, my mentor, my father in all the ways that counted. My eyes would glow red as a devil's; all likeness would be lost forever.**

Emmett patted Edwards hand comfortingly, a surprising gesture from him. Edward decided not to question it and continued reading.

**In my head, Carlisle's kind eyes did not judge me. I knew that he would forgive me for this horrible act that I would do. Because he loved me. Because he thought I was better than I was. And he would still love me, even as I now proved him wrong.**

**Bella Swan sat down in the chair next to me, her movements stiff and awkward-with fear?-and the scent of her blood bloomed in an inexorable cloud around me. I would prove my father wrong about me. The misery of this fact hurt almost as much as the fire in my throat.**

**I leaned away from her in revulsion-revolted by the monster aching to take her.**

**Why did she have to come here? Why did she have to exist? Why did she have to ruin the little peace I had in this non-life of mine? Why had this aggravating human ever been born? She would ruin me.**

Bella knew it was unreasonable to feel offended and hurt, but she felt it anyways. How could he hate her so quickly? It wasn't her fault that her blood called to him. She glared at her hands which were currently lying in her hands. Life is unfair. She didn't want to be in Forks anyways. Maybe she could move back to Phoenix, after all, she could take care of herself, home alone. . .

**I turned my face away from her, as a sudden fierce, unreasoning hatred washed through me. Who was this creature? Why me, why now? Why did I have to lose everything just because she happened to choose this unlikely town to appear in?**

**Why had she come here!**

**I didn't want to be the monster! I didn't want to kill this room full of harmless children! I didn't want to lose everything I'd gained in a lifetime of sacrifice and denial! I wouldn't. She couldn't make me.**

**The scent was the problem, the hideously appealing scent of her blood. If there was only some way to resist...if only another gust of fresh air could clear my head. Bella Swan shook out her long, thick, mahogany hair in my direction.**

**Was she insane? It was as if she were encouraging the monster! Taunting him. There was no friendly breeze to blow the smell away from me now. All would soon be lost. No, there was no helpful breeze. But I didn't have to breathe.**

"Took you long enough!" Emmett boomed out. Edward rolled his eyes, releived he wouldn't be taking an innocent life. Some people in the hall looked freaked out. What did that mean? He didn't have to breathe? Bella looked thoughtful and curious. she had so many questions she wanted to ask.

**I stopped the flow of air through my lungs; the relief was instantaneous, but incomplete. I still had the memory of the scent in my head, the taste of it on the back of my tongue. I wouldn't be able to resist even that for long. But perhaps I could resist for an hour. One hour. Just enough time to get out of this room full of victims, victims that maybe didn't have to be victims. If I could resist for one short hour.**

**It was an uncomfortable feeling, not breathing. My body did not need oxygen, but it went against my instincts. I relied on scent more than my other senses in times of stress. It led the way in the hunt, it was the first warning in case of danger. I did not often came across something as dangerous as I was, but self-preservation was just as strong in my kind as it was in the average human.**

Bella looked thoughtful, but some of her curiosity was satisfied. That didn't mean she didn't have more questions, though!

**Uncomfortable, but manageable. More bearable than smelling her and not sinking my teeth through that fine, thin, see-through skin to the hot, wet, pulsing- An hour! Just one hour. I must not think of the scent, the taste.**

**The silent girl kept her hair between us, leaning forward so that it spilled across her folder. I couldn't see her face, to try to read the emotions in her clear, deep eyes.**

**Was this why she'd let her tresses fan out between us? To hide those eyes from me? Out of fear? Shyness? To keep her secrets from me?**

**My former irritation at being stymied by her soundless thoughts was weak and pale in comparison to the need-and the hate-that possessed me now. For I hated this frail woman-child beside me, hated her with all the fervor with which I clung to my former self, my love of my family, my dreams of being something better than what I was... Hating her, hating how she made me feel-it helped a little. Yes, the irritation I'd felt before was weak, but it, too, helped a little. I clung to any emotion that distracted me from imagining what she would taste like...**

Bella looked offended and angry. Who was he to think he was so much better than her? Who was he to hate her without a second glance? How was it her fault that her blood smelled that good to him? he was an Arrogant, no-good- her thoughts were cut off abrubtidly by the sound of his voice, reading out the paragraph. She had never noticed before, but his voice was like melting honey. . .

**Hate and irritation. Impatience. Would the hour never pass? And when the hour ended... Then she would walk out of this room. And I would do what? I could introduce myself. Hello, my name is Edward Cullen. May I walk you to your next class? She would say yes. It would be the polite thing to do. Even already fearing me, as I suspected she did, she would follow convention and walk beside me. It should be easy enough to lead her in the wrong direction. A spur of the forest reached out like a finger to touch the back corner of the parking lot. I could tell her I'd forgotten a book in my car... Would anyone notice that I was the last person she'd been seen with? **

"I swear Edward, if we have to move early again, I am going to rip you limb-" ranted Rosalie, glaring daggers at Edward. Edward held up his hands.

"I wouldnt do anything." He said in a quiet, soft voice. Rosalie glared at him, but silenced herself. Edward continued reading.

**It was raining, as usual; two dark raincoats heading the wrong direction wouldn't pique too much interest, or give me away.**

**Except that I was not the only student who was aware of her today-though no one was as blisteringly aware as I was. Mike Newton, in particular, was conscious of every shift in her weight as she fidgeted in her chair-she was uncomfortable so close to me, just as anyone would be, just as I'd expected before her scent had destroyed all charitable concern. Mike Newton would notice if she left the classroom with me.**

**If I could last an hour, could I last two? I flinched at the pain of the burning.**

Bella felt unexplainable sorrow. She didn't want to hurt him, she realized. Even when he was planning to kill her. . .

Jasper looked at her in surprise, surprised by her emotions.

**She would go home to an empty house. Police Chief Swan worked a full day. I knew his house, as I knew every house in the tiny town. His home was nestled right up against thick woods, with no close neighbors. Even if she had time to scream, which she would not, there would be no one to hear. That would be the responsible way to deal with this. I'd gone seven decades without human blood. If I held my breath, I could last two hours. And when I had her alone, there would be no chance of anyone else getting hurt. And no reason to rush through the experience, the monster in my head agreed.**

Edward shuddered, feeling sick at the prospect of killing an innocent human girl.

**It was sophistry to think that by saving the nineteen humans in this room with effort and patience, I would be less a monster when I killed this innocent girl. Though I hated her, I knew my hatred was unjust. I knew that what I really hated was myself. And I would hate us both so much more when she was dead. I made it through the hour in this way-imagining the best ways to kill her. I tried to avoid imagining the actual act. That might be too much for me; I might lose this battle and end up killing everyone in sight. So I planned strategy, and nothing more. It carried me through the hour.**

**Once, toward the very end, she peeked up at me through the fluid wall of her hair. I could feel the unjustified hatred burning out of me as I met her gaze-see the reflection of it in her frightened eyes. Blood painted her cheek before she could hide in her hair again, and I was nearly undone.**

**But the bell rang. Saved by the bell-how cliché. We were both saved. She, saved from death. I, saved for just a short time from being the nightmarish creature I feared and loathed.**

**I couldn't walk as slowly as I should as I darted from the room. If anyone had been looking at me, they might have suspected that there was something not right about the way I moved. No one was paying attention to me. All human thoughts still swirled around the girl who was condemned to die in little more than an hour's time.**

**I hid in my car. I didn't like to think of myself having to hide. How cowardly that sounded. But it was unquestionably the case now.**

**I didn't have enough discipline left to be around humans now. Focusing so much of my efforts on not killing one of them left me no resources to resist the others. What a waste that would be. If I were to give in to the monster, I might as well make it worth the defeat.**

**I played a CD of music that usually calmed me, but it did little for me now. No, what helped most now was the cool, wet, clean air that drifted with the light rain through my open windows. Though I could remember the scent of Bella Swan's blood with perfect clarity, inhaling the clean air was like washing out the inside of my body from its infection.**

**I was sane again. I could think again. And I could fight again. I could fight against what I didn't want to be. I didn't have to go to her home. I didn't have to kill her. Obviously, I was a rational, thinking creature, and I had a choice. There was always a choice.**

"See Edward?" Alice told Edward. "I told you, you wouldn't kill her**."**

**It hadn't felt that way in the classroom...but I was away from her now. Perhaps, if I avoided her very, very carefully, there was no need for my life to change. I had things ordered the way I liked them now.**

**Why should I let some aggravating and delicious nobody ruin that? I didn't have to disappoint my father. I didn't have to cause my mother stress, worry...pain. Yes, it would hurt my adopted mother, too. And Esme was so gentle, so tender and soft. Causing someone like Esme pain was truly inexcusable. How ironic that I'd wanted to protect this human girl from the paltry, toothless threat of JessicaStanley's snide thoughts. I was the last person who would ever stand as a protector for Isabella Swan. She would never need protection from anything more than she needed it from me.**

**Where was Alice, I suddenly wondered? Hadn't she seen me killing the Swan girl in a multitude of ways? Why hadn't she come to help-to stop me or help me clean up the evidence, whichever? Was she so absorbed with watching for trouble with Jasper that she'd missed this much more horrific possibility?**

Alice stared guiltily at the ground. "Sorry for not warning you" she whispered, forlorn.

Edward waved off the apology.

**Was I stronger than I thought?**

"how many times have we told you, you are strong!" exclaimed Alice, exasperated.

"Yeah, honestly. I know vampire's skin is impenetrable, but really, exactly how thick is your skull?" Emmett looked at Edward curiously.

"Emmet!" exclaimed Edward offended yet happy a the same time.

**Would I really not have done anything to the girl?** **No. I knew that wasn't true. Alice must be concentrating on Jasper very hard.** **I searched in the direction I knew she would be, in the small building used for English classes. It did not** **take me long to locate her familiar 'voice.' And I was right.**

**Her every thought was turned to Jasper, watching his small choices with minute scrutiny.** **I wished I could ask her advice, but at the same time, I was glad she didn't know what I was capable of.** **That she was unaware of the massacre I had considered in the last hour.** **I felt a new burn through my body-the burn of shame. I didn't want any of them to know.** **If I could avoid Bella Swan, if I could manage not to kill her-even as I thought that, the monster writhed** **and gnashed his teeth in frustration-then no one would have to know. If I could keep away from her** **scent...**

**There was no reason why I shouldn't try, at least. Make a good choice. Try to be what Carlisle thought I** **was.**

"Not what Carlisle THOUGHT you were. But what you actually ARE, Edward. Why won't you believe us?" asked Alice, looking at him sadly.

Edward ignored Alice and continued reading.

**The last hour of school was almost over. I decided to put my new plan into action at once. Better than** **sitting here in the parking lot where she might pass me and ruin my attempt. Again, I felt the unjust** **hatred for the girl. I hated that she had this unconscious power over me. That she could make me be** **something I reviled.** **I walked swiftly-a little too swiftly, but there were no witnesses-across the tiny campus to the office.** **There was no reason for Bella Swan to cross paths with me. She would be avoided like the plague she** **was.**

**The office was empty except for the secretary, the one I wanted to see.** **She didn't notice my silent entrance.**

**"Mrs. Cope?"**

**The woman with the unnaturally red hair looked up and her eyes widened. It always caught them off** **guard, the little markers they didn't understand, no matter how many times they'd seen one of us** **before.**

**"Oh," she gasped, a little flustered. She smoothed her shirt. **_**Silly,**_** she thought to herself. **_**He's almost**_ **_young enough to be my son. Too young to think of that way..._**

Mrs. Cope blushed while a few people snickered. Edward shuddered. His so-called family just laughed at him.

**"Hello, Edward. What can I do for you?" Her eyelashes fluttered behind her thick glasses.**

**Uncomfortable. But I knew how to be charming when I wanted to be. It was easy, since I was able to** **know instantly how any tone or gesture was taken.** **I leaned forward, meeting her gaze as if I were staring deeply into her depthless, small brown eyes. Her** **thoughts were already in a flutter. This should be simple.**

blushed deeply, her face beggining to resemble a tomatato. Laughs and giggles filled the hall.

**"I was wondering if you could help me with my schedule," I said in the soft voice I reserved for not** **scaring humans. I heard the tempo of her heart increase.** **"Of course, Edward. How can I help?" ****_Too young, too young,_**** she chanted to herself. Wrong, of course. I** **was older than her grandfather. **

People gasped. How old was Edward really? Edward looked away from the crowd uncomfortably. he ran a hand through his hair, dazzling Bella, who immediately blushed when she realized she was staring. Jasper felt her emotions and looked at her strangely. Edward was, of course, oblivious to the exchange he had already continued reading.

**But according to my driver's license, she was right.** **"I was wondering if I could move from my biology class to a senior level science? Physics, perhaps?"**

**"It there a problem with Mr. Banner, Edward?"**

**"Not at all, it's just that I've already studied this material..."**

Emmett gave a booming laugh. people looked at him strangly and inched slwoly away. edward shook his head in disbeleif while he smacked his adoptive brother around the head, then continueing reading before he could say nothing more than a "HEY**!"**

**"In that accelerated school you all went to in Alaska, right." Her thin lips pursed as she considered this.** **They should all be in college. I've heard the teachers complain. Perfect four point ohs, never a hesitation** **with a response, never a wrong answer on a test-like they've found some way to cheat in every subject.** **Mr. Varner would rather believe that anyone was cheating than think a student was smarter than him...** **I'll bet their mother tutors them... "Actually, Edward, physics is pretty much full right now. Mr. Banner** **hates to have more than twenty-five students in a class-"**

**"I wouldn't be any trouble."**

"Of course not. Not a perfect Cullen" muttered Mike Newton in jealousy.

_**Of course not. Not a perfect Cullen.**_

Mike looked up in shock not a moment later.

**"I know that, Edward. But there just aren't enough seats as it is..."**

**"Could I drop the class, then? I could use the period for independent study."**

**"Drop biology?" He mouth fell open. **_**That's crazy. How hard is it to sit through a subject you already**_

_**know? There must be a problem with Mr. Banner. I wonder if I should talk to Bob about it?**_** "You won't**

**have enough credits to graduate."**

**"I'll catch up next year."**

**"Maybe you should talk to your parents about that."**

**The door opened behind me, but who ever it was did not think of me, so I ignored the arrival and** **concentrated on Mrs. Cope. I leaned slightly closer, and held my eyes a little wider. This would work** **better if they were gold instead of black. The blackness frightened people, as it should.**

**"Please, Mrs. Cope?" I made my voice as smooth and compelling as it could be-and it could be** **considerably compelling. "Isn't there some other section I could switch to? I'm sure there has to be an** **open slot somewhere? Sixth hour biology can't be the only option..."**

**I smiled at her, careful not to flash my teeth so widely that it would scare her, letting the expression** **soften my face.**

**Her heart drummed faster. **_**Too young**_**, she reminded herself frantically. **

Laughter filled the hall. Many people looked at edward dissaprovingly while blushed aa deep red, looking at her hands, avoidint the eyes of everyone.

**"Well, maybe I could talk to Bob-I mean Mr. Banner. I could see if-"** **A second was all it took to change everything: the atmosphere in the room, my mission here, the reason** **I leaned toward the red-haired woman... What had been for one purpose before was now for another.** **A second was all it took for Samantha Wells to open the door and place a signed tardy slip in the basket** **by the door, and hurry out again, in a rush to be away from school.** **A second was all it took for the sudden gust of wind through the open door to crash into me. A second** **all it took for me to realize why that first person through the door had not interrupted me with her** **thoughts.**

**I turned, though I did not need to make sure. I turned slowly, fighting to control the muscles that** **rebelled against me.** **Bella Swan stood with her back pressed to the wall beside the door, a piece of paper clutched in her** **hands. Her eyes were even wider than usual as she took in my ferocious, inhuman glare.**

'what the heck is his problem? I did not do anything to him! So sure, i smell better than any one else, but really, how is that my fault? Gahhh, he makes me so angry!' ranted Bella in her ha=ead. Jasper glance at her then looked at edward and snikered.

'id watch your back around her if I was you. she may be human, BUt she is an angry woman. Which is always a force to be reckoned with.' jasper laughed in his head at Edward. Edward shot him a glare but stared, slightly, okay not so slightly, terrified of the young woman whose face was red with anger.

"remind me never to piss her off in this reality." Edward muttered so low only his family could hear. they all laughed, even rosalie cracked a smile. The hall just looked at them strangly. What werec they laughibg about?

**The smell of her blood saturated every particle of air in the tiny, hot room. My throat burst into flames.** **The monster glared back at me from the mirror of her eyes again, a mask of evil. My hand hesitated in** **the air above the counter. I would not have to look back in order to reach across it and slam Mrs. Cope's** **head into her desk with enough force to kill her.** **Two lives, rather than twenty. A trade.** **The monster waited anxiously, hungrily, for me to do it. But there was always a choice-there had to be.**

**I cut off the motion of my lungs, and fixed Carlisle's face in front of my eyes. I turned back to face Mrs.** **Cope, and heard her internal surprise at the change in my expression. She shrank away from me, but her** **fear did not form into coherent words.** **Using all the control I'd mastered in my decades of self-denial, I made my voice even and smooth. There** **was just enough air left in my lungs to speak once more, rushing through the words.**

**"Never mind, then. I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help."**

**I spun and launched myself from the room, trying not to feel the warm-blooded heat of the girl's body** **as I passed within inches of it.** **I didn't stop until I was in my car, moving too fast the entire way there. Most of the humans had cleared** **out already, so there weren't a lot of witnesses. I heard a sophomore, D.J. Garrett, notice, and then** **disregard...**

**_Where did Cullen come from-it was like he just came out of thin air... There I go, with the imagination_** **_again. Mom always says..._**

D.J. Garrett looked up, surprised. "I knew I don't always imagine things!" he exclaimed.

**When I slid into my Volvo, the others were already there. I tried to control my breathing, but I was** **gasping at the fresh air like I'd been suffocated.**

**"Edward?" Alice asked, alarm in her voice.**

**I just shook my head at her.**

**"What the hell happened to you?" Emmett demanded, distracted, for the moment, from the fact that Jasper was not in the mood for his rematch.**

**Instead of answering, I threw the car into reverse. I had to get out of this lot before Bella Swan could** **follow me here, too. My own person demon, haunting me... **

Bella glared at Edward, muttering profanities directed it him. Edward looked slightly scared and quickly continued reading before she could do anything else.

**I swung the car around and accelerated. I hit forty before I was on the road. On the road, I hit seventy before I made the corner.**

Bella glared, but looked unsurprised. "Should've known he drives like a maniac, hell he is a maniac! An arrogant, annoying little.." her mutterings went to more unmentionable words. Most of the words she said even Emmett didn't know. The Cullens all stared at her, surprised.

"What?" she snapped. They quickly looked back towards Edward how had started reading.

**Without looking, I knew that Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper had all turned to stare at Alice. She shrugged.** **She couldn't see what had passed, only what was coming.** **She looked ahead for me now. We both processed what she saw in her head, and we were both** **surprised.**

**"You're leaving?" she whispered.** **The others stared at me now.**

**"Am I?" I hissed through my teeth.**

"Ok, ok, no need to get cranky, !" exclaimed Alice playfully. Edward glared at her while the hall laughed at his expense. Bella giggled and Edward thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world. 'No! She is human. You do not think about her like that!' he thought. Jasper looked towards Edward, confused. Why was he feeling attraction and denial?

**She saw it then, as my resolve wavered and another choice spun my future in a darker direction.**

**"Oh."**

**Bella Swan, dead. My eyes, glowing crimson with fresh blood. The search that would follow. The careful** **time we would wait before it was safe for us to pull out and start again...**

Bella, instead of being frightened, was angry. Who was he to decide whether she lived or died? Her logical side knew she was being stupid but she ignored that side.

**"Oh," she said again. The picture grew more specific. I saw the inside of Chief Swan's house for the first** **time, saw Bella in a small kitchen with the yellow cupboards, her back to me as I stalked her from the** **shadows...let the scent pull me toward her...**

**"Stop!" I groaned, not able to bear more.**

**"Sorry," she whispered, her eyes wide.**

Frightened murmurs went around the hall. Adrenaline was pumping through almost everyone's veins, making their blood all the more prominent. Jasper clenched his fist. Alice took his hand, soothingly rubbing circles onto it. Edward continued reading.

**The monster rejoiced. And the vision in her head shifted again. An empty highway at night, the trees** **beside it coated in snow, flashing by at almost two hundred miles per hour.**

**"I'll miss you," she said. "No matter how short a time you're gone."**

**Emmett and Rosalie exchanged an apprehensive glance.** **We were almost to the turn off onto the long drive that led to our home.**

**"Drop us here," Alice instructed. "You should tell Carlisle yourself."**

**I nodded, and the car squealed to a sudden stop.**

Bella began muttering about hoe edward was a crazy, maniac driver. The cullens snickered. well, everyone except edward, though he did look slightly amused.

**Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper got out in silence; they would make Alice explain when I was gone. Alice touched my shoulder.**

**"You will do the right thing," she murmured. Not a vision this time-an order. "She's Charlie Swan's only family. It would kill him, too."**

**"Yes," I said, agreeing only with the last part.**

**She slid out to join the others, her eyebrows pulling together in anxiety. They melted into woods, out of sight before I could turn the car around.**

**I accelerated back toward town, and I knew the visions in Alice's head would be flashing from dark to bright like a strobe light. As I sped back to Forks doing ninety, I wasn't sure where I was going. To say goodbye to my father? Or to embrace the monster inside me? The road flew away beneath my tires.**

Edward closed the book. "That was the end of the chapter" he told the principal. She nodded.

"One more chapter than we will depart for lunch, okay?" she told the hall, not really wanting an answer. There were a few murmured agreements.

"so who wants to read next?" Edward asked, looking around the hall for someone who wanted to read the book out loud.

* * *

**Okay, so I hope you enjoyed that! this was my first attempt in writing iin 3rd person. next chapter i might write in first person if you tell me which person to write in. anyways, I need to know if any one is reading this to continue it, so REVEIW if you want me to continue! the more reveiws i get, the faster and longer my next chapter will be!**

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